Jon mistakenly only sent this reply to me, and not the list:
-----Original Message-----
From: Jon Dodd [mailto:jon@bunnyfoot.com]
Sent: 12 January 2005 10:47
To: Lauke Patrick
Subject: RE: Colours to aid people with dyslexia (was: Using CSS to
create zoom layouts for low-vision people)
> As a general principle, as far as I'm aware, the advice is to avoid pure
> black on white, as the high contrast may result in overpowering "rivers of
> whitespace", and that light shades of cream/yellow are preferrable as a
> background colour.
>
> Patrick
>From my work with people with people with dyslexia there can be large
variability in preferred combinations - perhaps due to the variability of
underlying causes that are given the name Dyslexia. E.g. some people prefer
isoluminant green and red combinations that would be intolerable for most
other people (for these people it prevents interference from the motor areas
of the brain and helps stabilise the text). Avoiding high contrast (as
Patrick said) can help (for similar reasons) and of course avoid at all
costs text justification.
The most important thing though as with any accessibility consideration is
flexibility - avoid being prescriptive - remember people, even with the same
'condition', do not fall into neat little boxes and there are never one size
fits all solutions. Ensure your text can be manipulated in the way that the
individual user wants - and you can add things that make this easier like
style sheet switchers etc.
Jon